Closure for containers



Feb. 14, 1939. R. E. wARBuRToN V 7,

. CLOSURE FOR CONTAINERS Filed Dec. 5, 1954 Patented Feb. 14, 1939UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application December 5, 1934, Serial No;756,170 In Great Britain August 22, 1934 1 Claim.

This invention relates to closures for containers having ends offlexible material, and has for its object to provide a closure and amethod of applying same to the container opening, by the use of whichundetectable tampering with the container or its contents is effectivelyprevented, without rendering diflicult either the operation of closingthe container when the contents are packed or that of opening thecontainer when the contents are to be used.

To this end, a closure according to the invention is in the form of atwo-part cap or lid which can be handled and applied to the containeropening as a single entity. One outer part is in the form of apress-over lid having a central aperture and an inner depending flange,and the other inner part is in the form of a press-in lid, which fitsthe container opening and can be frictionally engaged over the innerdepending flange of the outer part to enable the two parts to be handledas a single entity.

When applying the closure to the rim or flange oi the container opening,the outer part is seated outside and the inner part inside said rim orflange and at least the outer part secured to the rim or flange, as bybending or crimping, whereby a permanent attachment of said outer partis effected, while the attachment of the inner part permits of itssubsequent removal but precludes its replacement.

The invention will be best understood by the following description ofone constructional form thereof illustrated in the accompanying drawing.

In the said drawing:-

Figure 1 is a vertical section of the outer part of the. two-part cap;

Figure 2 is a corresponding view of the inner part;

Figure 3 is a sectional view of the parts assembled;

Figure 4 is a vertical section of the upper part of one form ofcontainer to which the cap may be applied, and

Figure 5 is a view corresponding to Figure 4 with the cap in positionover the container openmg.

According to the constructional form of the invention illustrated in thedrawing, the above mentioned outer part of the cap or lid, i. e., thatwhich is permanently secured to the container, is in the form of a ringI (Figure 1), having a flange 5 depending from its outer edge andadapted to fit over the rim or flange of the container opening, and aninner depending flange 4 forming with the outer flange 5 an annularchannel or recess 2,

over lid as illustrated in Figure 3, and the cap 3 serves also as apress-in lid for the container opening.

The application of the form of lid just described to a container openingwill be understood by reference to Figures 4 and 5, which represent acontainer 5 having an end 1 secured to the body of the container bycrimping, the opening in said end being surrounded by a cylindricalflange or rim 8. In order to effect the closure of the container, theassembled two-part lid is pressed over the flange 8 which enters theannular recess 2 and susbtantially fills the space in said recessbetween the outer wall 9 of the cap and the inner wall of the flange 5.A crimping or bending tool is then applied to the top outer edge of thering I, whereby the said ring, the cap 3 and the flange 8 lying Withinits recess 2, are bent together outwardly as shown in Figure 5. In thisway, the ring I is permanently secured to the flange 8, and an annularlip I0 is formed on the ring, which is advantageous for example infacilitating the pouring of liquid contents from the container.

The cap 3 by which the ring I is closed before attachment of the ring tothe container, is of a material light enough to enable it to besubsequently separated from the ring by pushing it downwardly into thebody of the container 6, and when the container has been opened by sodoing, the parts cannot be reassembled. Should it be necessary totemporarily close the container, in the event of only part of itscontents being used on opening as above described, a bung or cork may beinserted in the aperture of the ring.

In the constructional form illustrated the inner and outer flanges 4, 5of the ring are both straight and of equal length. In this respect,however, the construction may be modified; for example the outer flange5 may be slightly longer than the inner flange 4 and may further beformed with an annular flange adapted to fit tightly to the face of thecontainer end 1.

Moreover, although the closure has been described as in the form of aring, it will be understood that its general configuration may be madeto conform with the configuration of the container opening, and thecrimping or bending may act only on the outer lid and the container rim.

The improved two-part closure may be made of sheet metal, foil,cardboard, leather or other suitable material, and the container end mayalso be made of similar substances. In cases where it is necessary totake special precautions for rendering the joints leak-proof, bindingsolutions or liquids may be applied to any or all of the parts duringassemblage.

The improved closure may be produced conveniently as a separate articleof manufacture, in sizes and materials suitable for different forms ofcontainers. The attachment of the closures to the containers presents nodifficulty and the simple manner in which the opening of the containeris provided for and undetectable tampering therewith prevented, affordsconsiderable advantages, especially where there is a risk of thecontents being abstracted and substituted by materials of a qualitydifferent from that originally packed.

Having described my invention I declare that what I claim and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:-

The combination with a container having a substantially flat top with anopening surrounded by an upstanding flange, of a two-part closure forsaid opening comprising a channel-shaped outer member the outer limb ofwhich is fitted over and permanently secured to the said upstandingflange, and an inner inverted capshaped member the upstanding flange ofwhich is fitted solely by frictional engagement Within the flangesurrounding the container opening and over the inner limb of thechannel-shaped outer member so as to be slidable between said flange andlimb towards the interior of the container.

RUPERT EVELYN LAW WARBURTON.

